Amazon Astro: A Robotic Watchdog and Helper for Smart Home Residents

Have you ever dreamed of a robot that will follow you step by step, always offering help and valuable information? If so, your dreams, to a certain extent, are now coming true. The Amazon Astro robot, which is much more than just Alexa on wheels, is going on sale.

Amazon’s recent presentation was full of interesting devices that are sure to prove useful in many smart homes. One such device is Amazon Astro, a robot that keeps an eye on things and provides valuable information to homeowners. 

More unique devices that will be of interest to everyone are told by Game Insider. Now let’s get to know Amazon Astro better.

Some of the key features of the Amazon Astro robot include: 

  • monitoring the home to keep household members safe,
  • the ability to control remotely and set up patrolling with a Ring Protect Pro subscription,
  • Alexa Together compatibility,
  • making video calls, watching media, or listening to podcasts while moving around the home (the robot can follow the householder),
  • recognizing household members and tailoring features and notifications to specific people (such as a personal reminder),
  • carrying small items for users.

Amazon Astro as a Driving Voice Assistant

One of the many, perhaps most important tasks of the new robot from Amazon is the function of an intelligent voice assistant, available for a user at any given time. Just by entering the command ‘follow me,’ Astro will follow the user to the place where it is about to go.

Why does anyone need Astro’s company? For everything that smart screens are currently used for. In this aspect, Amazon Astro is nothing more than an Echo Show display on wheels. It lets you make video calls, provides Alexa voice assistant features, allows you to listen to music, watch movies, and more.

Amazon Astro as a Watchdog

What if we leave the house where Astro is staying? The robot will instantly turn into a mobile home monitoring device. It will easily detect any disturbing noises or movement and immediately go to the indicated place and start transmitting video footage to the user.

Importantly, Amazon Astro can be part of the Ring Protect Pro alarm system, creating a comprehensive solution to keep your home safe while you are away. The Amazon Astro camera is placed on a boom for an improved field of view.

Amazon Astro as a Helper

The Amazon Astro robot can also be used as a clever assistant for everyday household tasks. Going to another householder to pass on a recorded message? No problem. On the way, Astro can carry a small package, such as a bottled drink, a box, or… a blood pressure monitor.

As in the case of the flying camera, the Amazon Astro robot is also subject to sales restrictions. To be able to order it, you have to sign up for an invitation-only waiting list and, because it’s Amazon, live in the United States.

For the first applicants, who will still receive the robot in 2021, the price of the Amazon Astro has been set at 1000 US dollars. By the time it gets to regular sales, it will grow to $ 1450.

The company tries to reassure those skeptical of surveillance by pointing out that the robot’s camera, microphone, and motion sensors can be turned off with a simple press of a button. In addition, users can set Astro’s range of motion, forbidding it, for example, to move around specific rooms. It should be remembered, however, that the moment we turn off the tracking function, we greatly limit the usefulness of this device. Also, users who want to use the full capabilities of the robot will have to agree to transfer their data to the Amazon cloud.

Featured Image Credit: Tech Talks